Culvert loader and car



May 30, 1961 ZION CULVERT LOADER AND CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1957 ATTORNEYS May 30, 1961 Filed Sept. 13, 1957 M. ZION CULVERT LOADER AND CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Mos/5.5 Z/ON ATTORNEY$ May 30, 1961 M. ZION CULVERT LOADER AND CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 13, 1957 INVENTOR M0555 Z/o/v IIIIIIIIIIIIIII III m om rm W 1 7 ATTO R N EYS CULVERT LOADER; 4. j.

Moses Zion, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor toThi Lionel gor fioration, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Filed Sept. 13, 1951, Ser. No. 683,890

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-11 Z This invention relates to model railways and more particularly to a simulated loading device therefor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for model railways that is adapted to simulate the actual loading and unloading of conduits and pipes.

from a stationary loading platform to arailway car.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a conduit handling accessory for model railways that is automatically operative to load' the'article upon the device, transport it to an unloading position, unload the article, and return the carriage to the initial loading position, the entire operation being controllable from a remote location.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a miniature loading apparatus that may be used in connection with model railways for loading and unloading substantially any type of tubular article, a continuous action being possible so as to load and unload substantially any number of articles completely automatically.

Still another object of the present invention is' to provide an accessory for model railways of the above type that may be readily installed for use with substantially any size and type of model railway and is so constructed as to not interfere with the normal operation of the railway apparatus.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a simulated conduit loading device for model railways that is operated by means of a non-reversible motor that includes linkage for eifecting continuous reciprocating movement of the loading carriage back and forth between a loading and an unloading position.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a simulated conduit loading device for model railways bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efiicient in operation.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a simulated loading device for model railways made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view, with parts broken away, of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of certain parts of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, the loading carriage being shown in an initial position immediately prior to actuation of the device;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the device in an initially loading position;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing the parts in an operative transporting position;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the device in an unloading position;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing the return movement of the carriage to the initial position shown in Figure '3;

Figure 8 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 2;

Figure 9 is a top plan view, of reduced scale, showing the operating components of the present invention;

Patented May 30, 1961,

Figure 10 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional view of the transport carriage in an initial: unloaded. position; and I Figure 11 is a bottom plan view taken along line. 11-11 Qf Figure l0. I

In accordance with the present invention,,a simulated v loading and unloading device for'model railways is shown to include a carriage that is automatically movable between an unloaded and a loaded position relative to a model railway car for simulating the loading of conduits from a loading platform, a single non-reversible electric motor and associated linkage furnishing all of "the operating power and directional controls necessary: for continuously performing such operations.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a device 10 made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a loading platform 12 having a simulated buliding 13 supported thereon with an inclined ramp 14 for rollably supporting a plurality of hollow cylindrical simulated pipe sections 15. The inclined ramp 14 directs these sections 15 toward the abutment 17 that defines a loading station. As will be hereinafter described, the carriage 25 is operative to engage a single such pipe section 15 and carry it to an awaiting railway. car 19 having a rearwardly inclined ramp 20, at which. point the carriage is operative to automatically release the pipe section and drop it into the railway car. a The trackway 21 extends beneath the horizontal beam 22 of the'device which is supported upon a pair of vertical columns 23. 4

As is more clearly shown in Figures 3 to 7 and 10, the conveyor carriage 25 includes a frame 26 supported upon wheels 27 that rollably engage the top of the beam 22. This frame 26 includes downwardly depending legs 29 having inwardly turned webs 30 for engaging one end of a pipe section 15. This carriage also includes a bar 33 that has a transversely extending pin 34 slidably received within a longitudinal slot 35 in the frame 26, which pin not only permits longitudinal movement of the bar but also permits limited rotational movement thereof. The opposite end of the bar is provided with another similar pin 37 that is displaceably received within the enlarged window opening 38 of the frame so that the bar 33 may be rotated to the position shown in Figure 7, for purposes hereinafter described. This bar 33 also includes a downwardly depending leg 39 which constitutes a movable jaw and which is provided with a horizontally extending lift web 40 for engaging the opposite end of the pipe section 15 to be transported.

A connecting link 43 is pivotally secured at one end to a pivot pin 42 carried by the bar 33 and at the other end is connected to a main link 45 by means of a pin 46 that extends through an enlarged opening 44 in the main link so as to accommodate limited universal movement thereof. The opposite end of the main link 45 extends through a horizontal slot 47 in the simulated building 13 and is connected to a vertical rock shaft 48 that is rotatably supported upon a mounting plate 49 within the simulated building 13. The lower end-of this shaft is connected to one end of the rock lever 50 that is pivotally connected at its opposite end by means of a pivot pin 52 to an auxiliary link 51, as is clearly shown in Figure 9. The free end of this auxiliary link 51 is pivotally mounted upon an eccentric bearing 54 of a speed reduction gear 55 that is driven by a pinion 56 which is supported upon the shaft 58 of an electric motor 59.

In operation, the carriage is disposed in the initial unloaded position shown in Figure 3 and in response to energization of the motor and transverse movement of the main link 45, the movable jaw 39 is moved toward the fixed jaw 29, such that the bar 33 assumes the loading position 33a, as shown in Figure 4. Continued operation of the motor 59 and movement of the main link 45 is operative to draw the carriage 25 toward the opposite end of the beam 22 and above the awaiting car 19. At this point, the link 45 has reached its maximum extent of travel, so that upon continued operation of the m'otor'59, the eccentric mounting associated therewith is operative to cause the link 45 to commence movement in a return direction, this'return movement being operative to first move the movable jaw 39 in a direction away from the fixed jaw 29, so as to permit the pipe section 15 carried thereby to drop to the car, as shown in Figure 6. The carriage 25 is then drawn along the beam 22 back toward the loading station 17. A downwardly facing inclined surface 63 on the movable jaw 39 permits the movable jaw to slide up and over the top of the next section 15 of pipe, as shown in Figure 7,- following which the parts will have assumed the initial starting position shown in Figure 3, whereby the device is operative to load the next section of the simulated pipe.

,While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A toy conduit loading device comprising in combination, a loading station, an unloading station, an overhead conveyor trackway extending between said loading station and said unloading station, a conveyor member mov-- able backwards and forwards on said conveyor trackway between said loading station and said unloading station, a fixed jaw on said conveyor member extending downwardly therefrom, a movable jaw on said conveyor member slidably and pivotally supported on said conveyor member including an inclined surface on its outer face aligned with theside of the object to be transported and deflectable upon contact therewith upwardly to clear the object, means for limiting movement of said movable jaw along said conveyor member, said movable jaw including a portion engageable with the opposite ends of the object to be transported when the movable jaw is moved beyond the end of the object and permitted to fall off the top thereof into alignment with the far end of the object, and means connectedto said movable jaw to continuously reciprocate said conveyor member between said loading station and said unloading station, said means including a motor having an output shaft, a pinion gear upon said output shaft, a reduction gear indriving engagement with said pinion gear, a connecting link pivotally secured at one end to a portion of said movable jaw and having a depending pin at the opposite end thereof, a vertically disposed support shaft, a main link having an enlarged aperture at one end in loose engagement about said pin, said main link being pivotally mounted at its opposite end:

upon said shaft, a rock lever pivotally mounted on said shaft connected to said main link, and an auxiliary link pivotally connected at one end to a portion of said rock lever and at the opposite end to a peripheral portion of said reduction gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,490,235 Smith et a1 Apr. 15, 1924 1,964,085 Schmitt June 26, 1934 2,346,978 Lent Apr. 18, 1944 2,438,603 Erhardt Mar. 30, 1948 

